Healthcare applications for robots, from surgery to companionship, are growing for innovators and entrepreneurs, says Research Nester.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to innovate, including utilizing workplace robots. From telepresence capabilities to UV disinfection, mobile robots empowered people and provided business value. But even as the infection fades, their use will continue and expand.

Ava Robotics, the iRobot spinout known for its telepresence robots, is expanding its product portfolio with the introduction of an ultraviolet (UV) disinfection robot for corporate offices, warehouses, and other work spaces. The new robot is an evolution of a research project Ava Robotics conducted with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Greater Boston…

Using ultraviolet light, a UVC robot developed by MIT and Ava Robotics can disinfect a warehouse floor in half an hour. It could one day be used in grocery stores, schools, and other public spaces

At the 2019 Robotics Summit & Expo, executives from Verizon, Qualcomm, and other companies emphasized the importance of readiness for the variety of robotics applications that 5G will enable.

Despite a few high-profile failures, robotics investments kept going strong in April 2019, with funding flowing to companies working on self-driving cars, supply chain automation, and robots in healthcare.

In the MassTLC 5G Robotics Challenge, teams are working to develop robots for industrial and other uses. They will have access to resources from Ericsson, Verizon, and Waypoint Robotics.

Ava Robotics, which is building autonomy and high-definition teleconferencing into its telepresence robots, has raised funds as analysts expect the market to grow.

Engineers can learn about recent developments in mobile robot technology from speakers, exhibitors, and peers at this conference in Boston in June.

CLEVELAND and BOSTON — Business-to-business publisher WTWH Media has announced a series of keynotes, sessions, and workshops at this year’s Robotics Summit & Expo dedicated to educating the robotics engineering community about how artificial intelligence and machine learning are making commercial and cognitive robots smarter and more useful. Topics include decision making, object identification, vision…

Cambridge, Mass.-based Ava Robotics, a startup that spun out of iRobot in late 2016, launched its Ava telepresence robot. The big differentiator for the Ava telepresence robot, when compared to competitors such as Double Robotics and Suitable Technologies, is that Ava maps its environment and autonomously navigates through it. There’s no need for humans to…